Overview
The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match is a 2009 fighting game developed by SNK Playmore. Like KOF '98 Ultimate Match before it, it expands upon a previous, well-received entry in the King of Fighters franchise (in this case, KOF 2002) by adding every character that appeared in the three games before it, adding moves to several characters, and making balance changes.
The game was initially released for the Playstation 2 in February 2009, but would eventually be rebalanced and ported to the arcade, where it has remained one of the top ten most profitable arcade games according to Arcadia. The arcade version was then re-ported to the Playstation 2 as "KOF 2002UM Tougeki Version," and was later released on the Xbox Live Marketplace where it became available to Western gamers for the first time.
Changes from The King of Fighters 2002
This game includes every character from The King of Fighters '99, 2000, 2001, and the home version of 2002, except for K9999 and Orochi Iori. For a myriad of reasons, K9999 is replaced by Nameless, an original character who looks different than but functions identically to his predecessor.
As in '98 Ultimate Match, most characters regain previously unavailable moves in Unlimited Match. Additionally, MAX and MAX2 Moves (also known as Super Desperation Moves and Hidden Super Desperation Moves, respectively) can be performed without entering MAX Mode; this comes at the cost of an extra stock of super meter.
Unlimited Match also improves upon the overall presentation of the game. There are new backgrounds and new audio tracks, and perhaps more importantly, a player's life bar changes color to indicate that a MAX2 move can be performed.
Playable Characters
Japan Team
Yagami Team
Fatal Fury Team
Art of Fighting Team
Ikari Warriors Team
Psycho Soldier Team
Kim Team
Women Fighters Team
Pretty Girl Fighters Team
'97 Special Team
Orochi Team
Another Orochi Team
Masters Team
K' Team
Jhun Team
Agents Team
NESTS Team
Clone Team
Single Entries
(None of the following characters are available in the arcade version)
Alternate Characters
Version Changes
Arcade vs. PS2
- All backgrounds are now rendered in high definition 2D rather than 3D.
- The camera no longer pans down at the start of every fight.
- Some minor balance changes.
XBLA vs. PS2
- The XBLA version, gameplay- and presentation-wise, is based on the Arcade version. Bosses are playable
- All of the dialog is in English (most win quotes are taken from the original 2002).
- Color Edit is removed.
- The original, NeoGeo KOF 2002 is no longer available.
- All cutscenes are now pre-rendered videos.
- Faster loading times.
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